Missed Years
by Rinne-Kami
Summary: The act of one night gave birth to their future. And now, with years past since that one night, they were left with years to return. Seven years of love to find, seven years of trust to rebuild, and seven years of fatherhood to return.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_ Yo! So in my on-going quest to avoid updating any of my older fics, I have created a new fic. Well I say created, but it was heavily inspired by a fic a read... pffffff must have been about 5 years ago and I don't think it's on this site any more, so if any of you have read that particular fic and recognise some of its plot lines I hope you'll go 'Hey, I remember that!'

The title of the story is open to change, but it will do for now.

Anyways on with the show;

* * *

><p>"Okay, instant ramen for Bolt, sunflower seeds for Himawari, new shoes for the both of them for school…" She listed the last few items thrown in her shopping cart, trailing slowly down each aisle carefully making sure not to miss anything on her large list. "All I need now is…" She looked up high towards her favourite brand of a particularly feminine item, it appeared the store had changed their items around, as the item, once at her eye level, now sat on the highest shelf, far out of her small frame's reach.<p>

She jumped a few times, hoping to knock one of them off, but couldn't get high enough to even graze it with the tip of her slender fingers.

She frowned sadly as she looked up at the item still. She wasn't sure whose idea it was to place an important item in every woman's life so far out of an average woman's reach. And if she had the confidence to make a complaint about it, she certainly would!

"Billie Jean is not my lover…" She heard a masculine voice singing quietly to himself, she turned, seeing a tall blonde man with short spiky hair, wearing a pair of baggy denim three quarter length pants, a baggy white shirt that appeared much too large for him, as the bottom of the shirt went past his waist and on his feet were a pair of black sandals.

"She's just a girl who said that I am the one…" He was still singing to himself as he moved closer to her, a smaller shopping basket clutched in his hands. He stood next to her, he was a good head and shoulders taller than her.

"But the kid is not my son…" With ease, he reached up and grabbed a pack of the very items she herself was desperately struggling in vain to reach. He lazily threw it into his basket and began to walk off.

"W-Wait!" She called after him, but he wasn't listened, she took a few hurried steps and gently poked him on the shoulder.

He turned quickly enough, giving her a weird look. And that was when she finally caught a glimpse of his eyes. He had miraculous deep blue eyes, yet seemingly warm and bright at the same time. His eyes and he yellow hair together, it painted a sort of view of the sun over the sea.

He pulled his earphones out, throwing both of them over his shoulders before giving her the biggest, warmest, kindest smile she had ever seen a stranger give. "Yo! You okay?" He asked kindly and quite loudly, beaming that smile still.

She stood frozen for a second, almost mesmerized by his smile. "S-S-Sorry…" She composed herself, shaking her head slightly to get her mind jogging again. "The item you just got, would you mind…?" She didn't finish her sentence, instead opting for staring upwards towards the item.

He followed her action, before grinning widely again. "Of course!" He grinned again, moving back to the shelf, reaching to grab another box of the items, before handing it to her. "Whose bright idea was it to put them up there? What an idiot!"

"T-Thank you." She smiled back gratuitously, placing the item into her cart.

"Don't mention it." He gave her a small, almost cheeky wink before placing his earphones back off and strolling down the aisle.

"La-da-da da-dum da-dum, la-da-da da-dum da-dum-dum." She watched him hum to himself in a cheery tone as he strolled away, she couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched him leave.

* * *

><p>"Okay! So that totals to 18000 Yen please!" The cashier beamed happily towards her, not noticing the eyes of the woman in front of her widen at the amount requested.<p>

"H-How much?" The woman asked quietly, her eyes darting fearfully towards the growing cue behind her.

"18000 Yen, if you please?" The cashier spoke in a less cheerful tone.

"Um, um just a minute…" She began rooting through her bag, cursing herself inwardly. She hadn't brought that much cash with her, she quickly pulled out her wallet, taking out her bank card with a heavy sigh, the money she had kept in her bank was to be used for a new suit for the start of her new job. She couldn't risk going into her overdraft again, which was a certainty with the amount requested.

She continued staring at her bank card, trying to hide the sadness on her face, without a doubt she would have to lend some extra money off her cousin again this month.

"Hey come on lady, we ain't got all day!" She was snapped out of her trance by the angry shouting of the cue behind her.

"S-Sorry!" She answered back with a jolt, and in her stupor she had dropped her bank card onto the floor to the audible groans of the people stood waiting _patiently_ for her.

She bent down to pick up her bank card, and as she rose she was met with the sound of paper being printed. She stared in confusion as she watched her receipt being printed off, torn out of the machine and handed to her with a once again cheerful cashier.

"H-How?" She asked in a wonder towards the cashier.

"Uhh… that guy there…" The cashier turned, pointing towards the exit, more specifically towards a blonde man currently walking through the doors. "As you were picking up your card, he just leaned over me and swiped his card through."

"Thank you." She answered back quickly, packing all her bags into her cart once again before speeding towards the exit, hoping to catch him.

She left the store, looking around the car park outside, luckily she saw him, still strolling leisurely towards his car. "W-Wait!" She shouted towards him, pushing her cart in his direction.

He turned straight away this time, pulling the single earphone out of his ear. He scratched the back of his head bashfully, grinning once again. "Damn, I was hoping for a silent getaway!"

"W-Why?" She asked curiously as she approached him, twice today this stranger had showed her kindness, the second time being without a request.

"Well I was in the self-service and I saw you…" He began with a toned down smile. "The way you were staring at your bank card, I don't wanna sound rude but I figured things might be hard for you. So I just gave you a helping hand."

"B-But I can't repay you for this." She answered back, nibbling on her lower lip slightly.

"I wasn't going to ask you to." He grinned once again, closing the back door of his car after placing his own shopping bag in the back seat.

"T-Thank you." She smiled once again, something about this man, she just couldn't stop the need to smile towards him.

"Like I said, don't mention it." He grinned again, lifting his arms behind his head. "Anyways I guess you want to be going."

"Y-Yes, I have to get a bus to town." She smiled again towards him.

"Oh, you live in town or something?" He asked innocently.

"No, I have to go to own to get a new suit. I am starting a new job on Monday." She answered honestly, not entirely sure why she was informing him of this.

"Wait, there must be at least seven bags there, that's got to be what, like three weeks' worth of shopping there. And you're just gonna hoist it all round town?" He asked with a look of surprise plastered across his face. He turned to face his car, then back to her again. "I was going to town myself, and I'd offer you a lift back to your place so you could drop that stuff off then take you to town, but you look smart enough not to get into cars with strangers…"

"So!" His suddenly loudly voice gave her a small startle. "My name's Naruto Namikaze! I'm twenty-five years old! I work at Dattebayo Lifestyle Management and Recreation Centre! My favourite foods are Ramen and Zenzei! If I'm not eating at home I'll be almost exclusively eating at Ichiraku's Ramen in town! Nice to meet ya! Now that I'm not a stranger, do you want that lift?"

"Y-You are still kind of a stranger…" She mumbled back towards him. "But that would be very helpful, and I would be extremely grateful if you would."

"Great!" He flashed her another beaming smile, pressing a button on his car keys so the trunk would open. "Stick your stuff in the back and let's get going!"

* * *

><p>"So just a left here?" Naruto asked curiously, being answered by a meek nod by the woman next to him. "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask your name?"<p>

"I-It's Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga." She answered back with a small smile. "I'm also twenty-five like you."

"Cool." He replied with a grin. "So you said you were going to town for a new suit for a new job you're starting. Nervous? Is it your first job?"

"No, I have done some part time work beforehand. And nervous...? I suppose I am, everyone is nervous when starting a new job. I shouldn't be though. My cousin got me the job." She responded honestly.

"That's great you have a cousin so close to you!" He grinned once again. "I'm an only child myself, and my cousin, yeah she's great, but only in small doses, after that it just gets frustrating listening to her pine on about how dreamy her boss is."

She smiled back in return, not really sure how to respond. "J-Just park up here, this is my apartment complex."

The man looked up at the size of the building. "Jeez, you want a hand with your bags? This is one big complex."

"T-that would most kind of you, Naruto-san." She smiled back in return.

"No problem! What floor are you on?" He asked casually, stepping out of his car towards the trunks before taking all of her bags into his hands.

"T-The 26th…" She responded in a careful tone, watching his eye twitch rapidly.

He let out a heavy voice, and spoke in a voice she believed he hoped she would not hear. "Of course you are… I'm guessing you don't have an elevator?"

"Oh no, we do have one." She tried her best not to smile when she saw his face light up again. "B-But it's currently out of order…."

* * *

><p>"Here we are." She spoke from the top of the flight of stairs leading to the 26th floor.<p>

"Great!" He panted behind her, at the bottom of the stairs, with a heavy groan he began the final ascent, after reaching the top he trudged weakly behind dropping her bags just outside her door. "I'll just wait for you out here, if you come back and I'm not breathing don't worry, I went out of this life happy."

She couldn't help but giggle lightly towards him. "You may come inside and wait if you'd like? There's a couch you can rest on."

"Really?! Thank you so much!" He looked at her with starry eyes, before kicking his shoes off and following her into her apartment.

It was pretty small, the lounge and dining room fit into the same area, leading to a very small kitchen. The bedrooms and bathroom seemed to be down a small, narrow hallway, as he only saw four other doors inside the apartment.

He sat down on the couch, looking towards a small TV. Surrounding were pictures of Hinata and two children, sometimes they were together, sometimes it was just the two children, other times it was Hinata and one of the children. In other pictures other people appeared in the picture, a man with long brown hair and eyes like Hinata was the most prominent person.

But the kids. Naruto just couldn't put a finger on it, but they looked… familiar? It was a boy and a girl, the girl with short dark blue hair flaring out at the sides with straight bangs and hime-cut framing her face. A green twin bead headband was wrapped around a small lock of hair jutting out at the top of her head. She had bright blue eyes and in every picture she was smiling a warm cute smile.

The boy on the other hand, in some pictures he looked annoyed, other pissed off, but most he looked happy. He had thick, spiky, wavy hair that jutted out at the sides, like the girl a single thick lock of hair jutted up at the top of his head. His eyes weren't as bright as the girl, they were a duller blue, almost lilac in colour.

"You said you were going to town, Naruto-san… are you sure you won't be late after waiting around for me?" He heard Hinata call from the kitchen, putting away the groceries.

"No, I only have to go to work. Don't worry about it." He called back to her, still looking at the pictures of the children hanging from the walls.

"You can't be late for work, Naruto-san." She said as she placed a glass of water on the table in front of him. "What would your boss think?"

The blond man shrugged his shoulder in return. Giving her a small grin. "I wouldn't worry, Hinata, I'm pretty sure he'll be cool with it!" He beamed towards her again, before he turned back to the pictures on the wall. "If you don't mind me asking, who are the kids in all these pictures?"

"…T-They are mine…" She seemed too hesitant to respond to his question, looking down towards her feet, she began prod her index fingers together, like a schoolgirl who was in trouble.

"Really?" He looked bag at her in mild surprise, before looking at the pictures of the children again. "Um… How old are they now?"

"They're both seven now. I had twins, my father was a twin as well, and the doctor said twins commonly run in the family." She responded back to him in a quiet mumble.

"Jeez, you must have been what, eighteen when you had them?" He stood up from the couch and moved towards the pictures, getting a closer look at the pictures. "I don't want to sound rude, but you must have missed a lot to take care of them…"

"S-Sometimes I feel like that…" She moved to stand next to him, she began to smile happily at the pictures of the children. "But I have never once thought that would rather have what I have missed rather than have them. They bring me so much joy."

She looked towards him, seeing him smile softly as well. "What are their names?"

She smiled once again, pointing towards the girl. "Her name is Himawari, she is very kind, although very shy sometimes." She smiled at the picture of the girl, before pointing to a picture of the boy looking particularly grumpy. "This is the elder Bolt. He is… something. He isn't afraid of anything, he's very loud and energetic and makes friends very easily. It seems when they were developing he kept all the confidence to himself. He can be a troublemaker though…"

"Those are great names. Himawari has this really warm smile, like the sun…" He smiled towards the pictures. "And Bolt… Where did you come up with his name?"

"My cousin, Neji, when I became pregnant he took care of me, he took me into his home, he has helped take care of these children. It wasn't much, but it felt right to name my son in reference to him."

"I think that's really cool…" He smiled towards her again. "So where's dad in these pictures? Or is he the fantastic photographer behind all these pictures?"

"Um… Um… T-They do not have a father…"

"Oh crap, I'm sorry…" He looked back at her sadly, regretful of what he had just asked. "Me and my big mouth huh?"

She stared back at his sad face, looking downhearted towards the ground. "W-What about you, Naruto-san? D-do you have a wife, or girlfriend? A-any children?" She asked, trying to break them out of the awkward silence created.

"Yeah I got a girlfriend," He responded with a small smile. "She's great and all, but things have been rough recently, but then again I'm not one to not put up a fight for something I care about! And no kids, but I can't wait to have them though!"

She smiled back towards him happily, seeing his demeanour perk back up. Gloominess really didn't suit this man. "I've finished putting away the groceries that need to stay frozen or refrigerated. The rest can wait until I return from town."

"Okay! Let's getting going then, Hinata!"

* * *

><p>"Thank you, Naruto-san… For all you've done today." She smiled towards him again, there was something contagious about his smile, and it made something build up inside her, like a fire warming her from the inside.<p>

They both stepped out of his car from his parking spot in the car park. "Don't mention it, Hinata. Now I really should be going otherwise I'll get chewed out at work!" He grinned again, locking his car remotely via the key before walking away from the blue haired woman. "Good luck at your new job, Hinata!"

"Thank you, Naruto-san! I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time." She answered back to him as he began to get further and further away.

He spun on his feet quickly, facing her as he continued to walk backwards away from her. "I keep telling you not to mention it! It was great meeting you, Hinata! Maybe we'll bump into each other again-ttebayo!"

Her eyes widened in utter shock as he spun back round, guffawing loudly to himself. _'No… it couldn't be…'_

"_I'm glad my friends convinced me to come out tonight! If I hadn't, I never would have met you-ttebayo!"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Ahoy, well chapter 1 is ago, what do you think? 3 guesses who Hinata's kids' dad is?

Few things to discuss:

Namikaze - Yes Naruto is a Namikaze and yes Kushina and Minato are still alive

Naruto's cousin - Yes it's Karin and she will be making an appearance soon.

Naruto's girlfriend - Yes he has a girlfriend and No it is not Sakura

18000 Yen - About 153 US Dollars

Obviously this is chapter 1, so much needs to be developed, so is it worth a continue?

Anyways, until next time


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yo! So the first chapter was more well received than I had imagined it would be, and I already had Chapter 2 written up and ready, I was just seeing the reaction and seeing if it was worth continuing. With 10 reviews I felt it was work a second chapter updates. So here we go!:

* * *

><p>"<em>Is it you!?" Hinata grasped a blonde man's face who had randomly passed her on the street, the man's dark blue eyes looked down towards her swollen stomach, easily five or six months pregnant. "Do you remember me? From Hamura's six months ago?"<em>

"_Uh…. Uh…" The man's eyes darted continuously between her pregnant belly and her face filled with relief. "Listen girly, I don't know who you think I am, but I assure you I'm not him. I don't even know where who this Toneri is."_

"_Hinata!" A blonde girl darted next to the blue haired girl, pulling her away from the confused man. She smiled apologetically towards the man. "I'm so sorry about this, hormones raging and everything…"_

"_No it's all right." He smiled back weakly, taking a step back from the two girls, giving the blue haired girl another regretful smile. "I'm sorry, I hope you find the guy you're looking for…" He uttered out before walking away._

"_Hinata, that guy must have been in his late thirties, you can't just go harassing every guy you see just because he has blonde hair and blue eyes." Ino almost scolded the blue haired girl, who looked down towards the ground in embarrassment._

"_I know… but I just can't help but hope… that I'll bump into him one day… then we can talk about what to do with t-this…" Her hands moved to cradle round her swollen belly, a small tear flickered from her eye and dropped towards the ground._

* * *

><p>"Hinata, I thought you gave up looking for him when Bolt and Himawari were born?" Ino sat next to her on the couch, flipping her long blond hair backwards before taking a sip of the glass of wine on her hands.<p>

"B-But I'm telling you, this time… it really felt like it could have been him…" Hinata replied quietly, her cousin had offered to take her children for the night so she could catch up with her friends, Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno. "There was something about him… It made me feel like I did when I met him all those years ago…"

Ino Yamanaka, she had known her since they were children, now at twenty-five, Ino was blonde, lean and beautiful. The type that could catch anyone's eye, and she had done that in the famous artist, Sai. They had only been dating a short while, and Ino had yet to find out his real name, as Sai was a pseudonym he operated under. Ino's family ran a successful chain of flower shops across the country, and Ino currently ran the shop closest to home.

Sakura Haruno had a head of pink hair, unlike herself or Ino, she had not come from money, however her parents had put everything they could into getting Sakura into the private school they attended together. Sakura was a genius in her eyes, and it was shown when Sakura was offered a scholarship to a medical school ran by Tsunade Senju, perhaps the most world renowned physician.

"I thought it was the alcohol that made you feel the way you did for him…" Ino grumbled out, obviously not enjoying the subject being brought up again, she had seen her blue haired friend go through so much pain and heartache throughout the ordeal, she didn't want to see her go through all of it again. "You're being awfully quiet about this, Sakura?"

"You know what I think about it, Hinata." Sakura responded quite bluntly, taking a sip of the red wine in her own glass. "I've offered you a paternity test in the past, but you turned them down. I even offered you one as soon as your children were born, if you truly wanted to find him you should have done it then. If you approach this guy and tell him he's the father of your kids when he's not, it could cause a lot of problems. Plus, it's not fair on Bolt and Himawari, putting them in a position where they get their hopes up to finally meet their father and it turns out it's not him. This guy could be him yes, but it could also not be him. The guy you're hoping to find, their father. Truthfully, Hinata, he could be anywhere, even dead. My advice is get a paternity test first, get your confirmation from that first before you approach him about the subject."

"I-I suppose your right…" Hinata looked down again solemnly, contemplating the subject. Yes, this Naruto had reminded her of the boy she gave herself to, the boy who fathered her children, but Sakura was right, he may not be him, she was foolish enough to not ask the boy his name when they had met.

"I don't see why you'd want him around, Hinata." Ino spoke loudly. "You've got a good thing going already, and Bolt and Himawari are happy. What if bringing him into the picture makes them unhappy?"

"You're right, Ino-chan." Hinata smiled towards her long-time friend. "But I would like to give Bolt-kun and Himawari-chan the option of getting to know their father. And I would like to give him the option of being a part of their lives. That is all I want from him."

* * *

><p>"Come on, guys! It's Saturday, we've been here for hours!" Naruto whined loudly, seeing he sun set outside the window of the meeting room he had currently found himself contained in.<p>

"That's because someone turned up three hours late to our meeting." A thin black eyebrow rose with annoyance. "Now stop whining, I want some peace from it before I go home to that troublesome woman so she can whine at me as well."

"I own this place, you'll wait as long as I want." Naruto grumbled quietly to himself, Shikamaru hard stare boring into him. Shikamaru Nara was his CEO of Dattebayo, and he had hired his long-time friend for a multitude of reasons, the first being he was the only person he knew besides his dad with a business degree, another was the fact that he was sure Shikamaru would be okay with his occasionally tardiness. But when Shikamaru got into his serious mode he was having none of it.

"It didn't help that you decided to have a friendly chat for the first two hours of this meeting." The red haired Gaara spoke from beside him, making up the third member of this small meeting. Another childhood friend of his, and also his Accounts manager. "Now as Shikamaru was saying, profits have been good, in fact ever since we opened three years ago we've constantly seen profits rise year out. Naruto, have you ever thought of expanding outwards?"

"You mean like a new floor in the building? Coz I go tons of ideas we could do if we put another floor in this place!" Naruto beamed excitedly towards his two friends.

"No we mean like a new centre altogether." Shikamaru responded dully, "Gaara and I have spoken about it at length, and it could work, we've got the resources to fund a whole new state of the art building. We've got the customer satisfaction and word of mouth, and we're getting the reputation. Now's the perfect time."

"But where would we think of building a new centre?" Naruto asked curiously, allowing Gaara and Shikamaru to grow small smiles at his interest in the subject.

"We've got two ideas," Shikamaru answered, flicking the presentation to the next slide, showing pictures of the west part of the city of Konohagakure. "One was building a new centre in western Konoha, which is developed but not as economically developed as Eastern Konoha where we are now. We could build a new centre, and offer lower prices to customers in order to facilitate the average annual salary in the western part of Konoha. However there are already many Lifestyle management and leisure centres already there. Most of them are small, family names with loyal, lifetime customers, it could be difficult to pull them away from the centres already established with firm roots to the area."

"Okaaay… what's the other option?" Naruto asked curiously. Gaara nodded towards Shikamaru, who flicked the presentation to the next slide, now showing images of Sunagakure, the largest city in Fu no Kuni. "Suna? That's pretty far away for our first expansion, don't you think?"

"Yes, but as Gaara said, and I agree. It is our better option." Shikamaru answered confidently. "Suna's being growing a lot recently, as is the country itself. A lot of people are immigrating to Suna, its current population stands at seven million and growing, despite that, there is not even one hundred centres throughout the city, and none of them come close to offering the same amount to their customers as we can provide. We've even found a location," Shikamaru spoke, flicking to an image of an abandoned multi-storey car park. "This car park has been out of use for years, and it's directly in the heart of the city. Fu no Kuni has a majority of desert landscape, and has very high temperatures throughout the year, I'm thinking we build here, offer the same gym, sporting activities and classes as we do here, but focus more on relaxation and keeping out of the heat. Throw in a few spas, a bigger swimming pool, in multiple swimming pools and I reckon we could see a large profit within the first year end of its opening."

"But still, it's pretty far away, it's a three day trip from Konoha to Suna by car. Who would manage it?" Naruto asked again.

"My brother, Kankuro." Gaara responded for Shikamaru. "Kankuro knows the city and the people, and the people know him. And he owns 4.6% of the shares of Dattebayo, so he has everything to gain from a successful venture in Suna as well. He knows the culture better in my hometown than I do, Shikamaru had good ideas, but Kankuro can also bring in the cultural activities the residents would want to see."

"I guess…" Naruto scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I like both ideas, can't we do both?"

"We've had a good few years, Naruto. But not good enough to fund both ventures, we can always come back to the other once the one you've chosen is up and running and is successful." Shikamaru frowned at the blonde hesitation. Sliding him a paper format of both ideas.

Naruto stared at both piece of paper thoughtfully for a few second. "It seems like you've got more faith in the Suna project, are you sure it will work?"

Shikamaru smirked confidently. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't. Just sign that paper and we can start on our Suna project."

"Okay, Shika, I trust you!" Naruto beamed excitedly, signing the bottom of the paper before sliding it back to Shikamaru.

"Good, now we can begin construction on the facility and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa!" Naruto loudly shouted over the black haired man. "Don't we have to buy the land that car park is on first?"

Shikamaru smirked sneakily. "I already have." Naruto's eyes widened with shock and before he could speak Shikamaru rose his hand to keep him silence. "I know what you're thinking, just like I knew you would go with the Suna project once we pitched it to you. Like I said Gaara and I were talking about this for a while, but other companies were eyeing that land that car park was on in the centre of the city. I couldn't afford to wait for your official consent, so I bought the land."

"And what if I didn't like the Suna idea?" Naruto frowned almost angrily that Shikamaru had been working behind his back.

"We could have sold the land to one of the companies that were eyeing it for a higher price than what we bought it for." Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders lazily.

"I'll be going out Suna periodically during the construction months and the first months of open business to help Kankuro get up to speed. But Shikamaru is right, this could work, Naruto." Gaara continued with a small smile. "All that's left is the appropriate marketing."

"Marketing?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at Gaara's last comment.

"Yeah, we were really lucky we came out so well with the minimum marketing we did for this branch, we relied almost solely on word of mouth from the customers and a few billboard ads, people knew us here. That won't cut it in Suna, there's seven million people we have to attract to the business. We'll need something better to grasp their attention, we've got the money to pump into better marketing, so why don't we?" Shikamaru sat back down next to Naruto and Gaara.

"What are you thinking?" Naruto asked the black haired man, who smile confidently once again.

"I was thinking of getting a contract set up with a Marketing consultant agency." Shikamaru let out a heavy sigh. "Of course though, most of them have pretty strong ties to other companies, some with our competitors. I've been looking around, and I think our best bet comes with Doujutsu Inc."

"Doujutsu?" Naruto asked once again.

"Yeah, they are an up and coming Marketing company, and like us, they've been pretty successful right from the get go. But obviously they've attracted a lot of attention, I've been trying to get us a meeting for weeks, but they are never available."

"Oh I know who they are." Naruto responded with a smile. "My cousin works there."

"Your cousin?" Shikamaru's eyebrow rose at the blonde's comment.

"Yeah, I think she said she works directly for one of the owners and co-CEO, she constantly goes on about him like he's a God, but has never mentioned his name or anything about him." Naruto complained in a whining tone.

"Naruto…" He turned back to Shikamaru, who had reclaimed his serious mode. "Why haven't you mentioned this before!? This is just what we need! Do you think she can arrange us a meeting with him?"

"Uhh… I don't know, maybe…" The blonde brought out his phone, quickly flickering his contacts before dialling and bringing the phone.

"Naruto? I haven't heard from you in a while, what's up?"

Naruto beamed largely when she answered the phone. "Hey cousin, let's go bowling!"

* * *

><p>"So Hinata, you're starting at Doujutsu on Monday," Ino spoke happily, but she did not miss when Sakura abruptly excused herself to disappear into the kitchen. "They're doing pretty good, you gotta be on some good wage there?"<p>

"Yes, although a part of me thinks Neji-nii-san is paying me a bit more than he should." Hinata responded with an excited smile. She had been in out of part time work for a long time, what Neji had offered her was more than a good payslip, he was offering her stability. "I-I think the first thing I'll do is take Bolt and Himawari on holiday, after that, I'll save to get out of this cramped apartment."

Ino beamed happily once again, before quickly looking over her shoulder. "Psst, now that the sourpuss has disappeared, tell me about this guy you met. I can't remember the last time you looked at one." She spoke in a hushed whisper.

Hinata giggled quietly to herself. "H-he was something extraordinary, Ino. He was so kind, and selfless and generous. He helped me without a moment's hesitation even though he did not know me. He was a bit loud in all honesty, but he was still charming in his own way." Hinata spoke out loud to herself, but loud enough for her blonde friend to hear. She gave a loud sigh of happiness. "And the way he smiled, Ino. The way he smiled made me feel something I never felt before, it was like I was always cold, and his smile was a fire to keep me warm…"

Ino sighed in wonder after listening to the blue haired woman descry be this mystery man. "Do you think you'll see him again?"

"I-I do not know… I hope so…" Hinata smiled towards the glass she played with between her fingers. "I don't think I'll ever be able to see him in that way, h-he mentioned he had a girlfriend, b-but I would very much like to see that smile again."

Ino's brow furrowed at the mention of this guy's girlfriend. "Did you at least get this guy's name this time?"

Hinata nodded firmly. "Yes, his name was Naruto…."

* * *

><p>"STRIKE!" Naruto screamed loudly as the ten pins cluttered and dropped to the floor. He turned to his companion, and grinned widely.<p>

The woman flickered her red hair tied in a ponytail back over her shoulder, before she walked past him, she punched him hard in the arm. "Don't get cocky, blondie!"

"Ouch, Karin!" He whined loudly, watching her pick up a ball and throw it towards the set of ten pins, his eyes widened with panic when all ten were knocked down.

She turned back to him with a confident smirk. "See? You're lucky I didn't have anything planned tonight, you wouldn't have anyone to kick your ass otherwise. How's Aunt Kushina?" She asked him as he returned to pick up his favourite orange ball.

"I don't know. Remember how my mom got after I went camping with Shikamaru and didn't ring her for a week?" He asked her, and she nodded back firmly in response. "Yeah, now imagine how she'd react when I haven't spoken to her in eight months."

"Oh you're so dead!" Karin laughed loudly, causing a startle in Naruto and in turn created a gutter ball.

He turned around with a heavy sigh, waiting for his ball to return. "Honestly Karin I was so busy I didn't have time to ring her at first, but now it's got to the point where I'm too scared to ring home or go see my parents. How's work?"

"It's great, my boss is a genius!" She exclaimed excitedly. Before her mood softened to a sour one. "But's he's been a bit angry recently, he's had meeting after meeting with potential business partners, but they've all been terrible. Doujutsu hasn't created a new marketing deal in months, and it's got him pissed off." She answered sadly, before looking towards her blond cousin with a knowing smile. "What about you, I've seen how Dattebayo's been doing for itself. It's even caught my bosses' attention…"

"Really?" Naruto turned with a look of surprise after hitting a spare.

"Yeah, they've been waiting for Dattebayo to show signs of expanding. They thought you were gonna do it last year and were preparing a pitch to assist as your marketing consultants, but you didn't." Karin spoke still smiling towards him. "Honestly, with how my boss has been recently I was tempted to tell him you were my cousin and arrange a meeting to get his spirits back up."

"Shikamaru didn't think it was a good time last year. And I'm not gonna go against what Shikamaru says, the guy's a fricken genius!" Naruto beamed back widely to her. "However…" He added, causing Karin to look up and focus on him again. "Me, Shikamaru and Gaara were talking about expansion now, we've got plans to build a new centre in Suna. It was something I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think you could set up a meeting with your boss? We're going to need a strong marketing plan when we hit Suna."

Karin's smile turned to an apologetic stare. "Sorry, Naruto, but my boss it pretty much booked out for weeks, and although there is an interest in Dattebayo, he firmly believes in respecting all clients, he won't drop one off just so he can have a meeting with you."

"Crap. Oh well, it was worth a shot." Naruto smiled nonetheless, causing Karin to smile as well.

"But I know Neji has a three o'clock opening on Monday. I can have you booked into that by the end of the night, you just gotta drop me off at work for ten minutes." Karin smiled, however Naruto's eyes squinted with recollection._ 'Sasuke-kun owes me the most romantic meal for two for setting this meeting up!'_

"Neji?"

"Yeah, he's co-owner, co-founder and co-CEO. Why?" Karin asked with a hint of interest after seeing her cousin's face.

"It's just I heard his name today, I think I met his cousin." Naruto answered thoughtfully, scratching the back of his head harshly.

"Wow, Naruto, you know that ability of yours always surprises me." Karin could only laugh towards the blonde man. "You're always able to meet the right people."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: Hello again, so that was chapter 2, how was it? Few things to discuss:

1 - The first part of this was a flashback (obviously due to the fact Hinata was pregnant)

2 - A few people mentioned they were confuzzled about the relationship between Naruto and Hinata, well there isn't one. In this AU, Naruto and Hinata didn't meet before the one night stand and they didn't meet again until when we see them do in chapter 1, why they don't remember each other or why they didn't attempt will be explained in due time, however as explained by our dear friend Ino, Hinata was drunk and forgot to ask his name, Naruto was the same when they met in the past and got their freak on.

3 - How can I have a story about Naruto, Hinata, Bolt and Himawari and Bolt and Himawari not be seen 2 chapters in, simple enough, I don't plan on having Naruto meet his kids first, I was thinking someone else will meet one of them first.

4 - Other kids from chapter 700? Yes, there will be one other kid from chapter 700 in this fic and it ain't Sarada (Sorry BurritoSalad fans)

5 - As evident in this fic I don't know much about business, or marketing, or social interaction

6 - If I've forgotten to explain anything, or you have any questions feel free to PM me and ask

Until next time


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Yo! So again Chapter 2 was quite well received review wise, so I hustled and bustled to get this chapter up.

Saying that, it's shorter than the previous chapters, and to be honest it's like 65% omake 35% character and story progression.

Anyways, on with the show:

* * *

><p>"Naruto."<p>

"_No no no no no, I asked for extra pork…"_

"Naruto…"

"_What do you mean you're out of Naruto...?"_

"Naruto!"

"What!?" His eyes jolted open with a startle, before squinted back down after being pierced by the harsh morning light. He looked to the side of his bed, a woman his own age stood dressed and prepared for the day, her long light blond hair was tied back and held in place by a red bow at the end, and her pale lavender eyes stared down at the blonde haired man wrapped up in his bed sheets.

"Get up, Naruto. You promised you would go to church with me today." She spoke down to him, throwing some of his smarter clothes on the bed.

"I did and I will, Shion. But I'm not getting up until its closer to when it starts." Naruto grumbled back, turning around to face the opposite way from her and curling up into a ball.

"Church starts in an hour." She responded bluntly to him.

He flickered his eyes open again, and they darted towards the clock on the bedside table. "Church starts at 8?" He spoke with a dry mouth, before groaning loudly as he sat up in the bed, scratching his head and ruffling his hair even worse than the sleep had caused it to look. "Right, I'm up."

"Good, and while you're getting ready we can talk about where you were all of yesterday. And why you decided to sneak in at ten to midnight?" Shion spoke with an annoyed tone, watching as the blonde man slowly creeped to the end of the bed and threw the pressed white shirt she had taken out for him over his head.

"I told you. First I was at the store picking up some stuff, then I met a friend whilst there and helped them take their shopping home. That caused me to be late for my meeting with Shikamaru and Gaara. Then after that I met up with Karin and went bowling with her. After we finished bowling I had to take her to work for like ten minutes so she could book us in with a meeting with one of her bosses tomorrow. After that I dropped her off at home, stayed at her house for like an hour and had a snack and a catch up coz I haven't seen her for like five months and after that came home-ttebayo." He repeated his story to her, the same one he told her when she woke up last night when he came back to his apartment.

"Really? And who was this friend you met Naruto?" Shion asked curiously, although hints of anger still linger in her tone.

"Her name's Hinata, she lives like halfway across town-"

"And why haven't I met this Hinata?" She interrupted him, her brow furrowing towards the blonde man.

Naruto turned to look at the clock again, before returning to face his girlfriend with an angry glare of his own. "You seriously want to start having this argument now? Because we can have this argument now, we'll just be late for your church instead."

Shion's lips pursed together, a look of anger to piercing through behind her gaze. "Just get dressed Naruto." She finally uttered before turning and leaving their bedroom, slamming the door behind her, leaving Naruto with nothing to do except sigh loudly in frustration.

* * *

><p>"Bolt-kun, Himawari-chan, lunch is ready." Hinata spoke loudly from the small kit hen, her son already sat in the living room, his young eyes glued to the television in front of him. Her shout was loud enough for her daughter to come skipping out of her room towards the dining table.<p>

Bolt moved from his seat, still watch the television as he walked backwards towards the table taking the seat behind his lunch. Hinata looked over to see what he was watching and a puzzled look came over her face. "How old is Ash now, Bolt-kun?"

"He's ten mom." He didn't look at her to answer her question, instead still focusing on the show playing on the television.

"Really? I was your age when that show first came out and he was ten years old then." Hinata smiled, although Bolt only nodded his head in return, taking a large bite out of his sandwich. "So, I'll be starting work tomorrow. I'll be dropping you off at school, however I don't know when I'll be finishing, I will discuss things with your Uncle Neji tomorrow about getting time to pick you up from school. But tomorrow your Aunt Hanabi will be picking you up."

"We haven't seen Aunt Hanabi for a long time." The young Himawari seemed to smile happily at the news.

"Oh yeah, which reminds me. Mom, is it okay if I go round a friend's house after school on Monday?" Bolt spoke up, finally taking his eyes off the TV.

"Umm… which friend is it, Bolt-kun?" Hinata asked carefully, as Bolt had many friends, but had never gone round any of their houses.

Instead of answering, Bolt quickly left the table, darting into his room, he quickly returned with a small slip of paper in his hands. "His name's Shikadai, he's pretty lazy, but quite smart at the same time. He said he'd help me with my homework-ttebasa. He told me to give you this, it's from his mom. She said it's their address, home phone number and her and his dad's cell phone numbers in case you need to contact her or something." He spoke again, handing her the paper.

Hinata took at and read over the details on the piece of paper. "Of course you can go round you friend's house, Bolt-kun. Just remember your manners, and do not cause any trouble while there."

"Of course, mom!" He grinned widely, before sitting back down at the table to continue watching TV.

Hinata smiled in return, however from the corner of her eye she saw her daughter's eyes fall down sadly, staring at the food in front of her. Hinata's own eyes gave in to the sadness, Himawari never spoke about any friends she had made at school and for a while now, she feared that her daughter simply didn't have any.

* * *

><p>"That is all for today, go in peace all of you. Confessional will now be open." The priest at the front of the gathered crowd spoke with a pleasant, soft smile. And in the crowd a blond man sighed heavily in relief.<p>

"Three hours, he went on and on for three hours." Naruto sight with his eyes wide, pushing his hair backwards while he looked to the ground in awe. "I can't believe that guy could make a speech about being nice to people last three hours."

"Naruto." He turned to his girlfriend, who smiled happily back towards him. "Thank you for making the attempt by coming today. Now to complete your trial run, why don't you try confessional?"

"What do I have to do?" He asked curiously in response.

"Go into that booth, a priest will be waiting inside, you just take a seat and discuss what is on your mind, if you believe have wrongdoings, the priest may offer advice." Shion spoke, pointing to a wooden box near the back of the alter.

"Okay, I guess." He shrugged, before making his way to one of the booths, closing the door behind him he sat down, a small block of wood from the side opened slightly, but he could barely see the person on the other side. "Hey."

"What troubles you, my son?" A man on the other side spoke calmly and quietly.

"Uh… Well if I'm honest I don't know what I'm supposed to do or say right now." Naruto responded with a sigh. "No offence but I don't really believe in your God. My dad is a Buddhist and my mom follows Shinto, so I've got most of my teachings from their beliefs. My girlfriend follows your religion though, and she keeps trying to convert me. I'm here because I told her I would give it a try so she would be happy, but… I dunno, it just feels wrong for me to be here, it feels like I'm just wasting your time…"

"Helping others is never a waste of my time." The priest responded kindly. "You may not believe, but I find there are lessons to be learned hidden in all religions. Perhaps you will not convert, but you may leave here with a different outlook, you may leave with a new lesson… If you do not mind me asking, my son. What is your name?"

"Naruto." The blond man responded. "Naruto Namikaze."

"Naruto!" The man on the other side seemed to almost shout ecstatically. "Thank the heavens, it's me, Jiraiya!"

"Jiraiya!?" Naruto near shouted back in horror. "What the hell are you doing in there!?"

"Naruto, that isn't appropriate language for a church…" Jiraiya spoke back in a scolding tone.

"But still, Jiraiya, what are you doing in there?" Naruto asked with a reiterating tone.

"Well you see, I was out last night, and I met this beautiful young woman. We were talking all night, and before I knew it the sun was up. So we went to go look for someplace to stay, however there wasn't a hotel anywhere nearby, we saw the church was opening and well…"

"Oh jeez Jiraiya!" Naruto pinched his nose with frustration. "There I was saying how I felt bad for being here, but look at you! What if someone else came in here!? I don't know much about Shion's faith, but I know this stuff ain't cool!"

"I know, Naruto!" Jiraiya spoke back quickly. "I'll admit this wasn't my best idea. And I'm sure there are gates wide open waiting for me! But Naruto, I didn't think anybody would be here today!"

"It's Sunday!" Naruto barked back. "Shion always goes to church on Sunday! It's like, her God's day or something!"

"I screwed up, Naruto! I'll admit it! I've done a horrible thing and I'm a horrible person! But Naruto I'm begging for your help, can you just hold up in here and wait for everyone to go so we can make a silent escape?"

Naruto tutted loudly in frustration, if he was honest, the thought of ratting Jiraiya plagued through his mind, it would show the old pervert a lesson. But he _had_ just sat through a three hour lecture on being nice to people. "Fine, you know I think there are anonymous groups for people like you."

"Thanks Naruto. You're a good kid. I saw your parents recently, your mom's in a blind fury because you haven't spoke to her in a while. It took all of mine and Minato's persuasive skills to stop her marching to your office and beating you senseless."

"Don't remind me-ttebayo, Karin says I'm dead as well." Naruto huffed out, crossing his arms across his chest.

"So… How are you and Shion?"

"Crappy. We've been fighting more and more recently. In fact, like ten minutes ago was the first time I've seen her smile in a long time…" Naruto answered quietly. "Things have been going downhill since _that_ time. And as Dattebayo's getting more and more busy it's like it's making things worse. I've been trying to get things back to the way things were, to show that I'm over what happened, but then a part of me thinks maybe I'm not over it. And that's why things don't seem to be getting better, that's why nothing seems to be working to fix it…"

"Naruto, do you believe in the red thread of fate?"

"Sometimes… why?"

"Well your mom believes in it. She believes that what brought her and Minato together, she believes in it so much she thinks her hair is the red thread of fate that brought Minato to her."

"Right…" Naruto's eyebrow rose with curiosity, Jiraiya was an idiot and a pervert, but sometimes, and very rarely, he did display something akin to sage like advice. "What's your point?"

"The red thread connects two people together, two people destined for each other. And no matter how far away they are from each other, no matter where life has placed either of them. These two people will find each other. I personally don't believe in it, but if you do, maybe it's worth considering… that your thread isn't tied to Shion, maybe it's tied to someone else…"

* * *

><p>The two knitting needles clicked together rhythmically, creating loop after loop of the same continuous pattern. It was one of her newer, but few in numerical hobbies. It was calming and relaxing, yet at the same time the mind had to stay focused, as one misstep could ruin it otherwise.<p>

"Mom, what are you making?" Himawari sat next to her watching her knit together the red threads, intertwining them with each other.

"It's just a simple red scarf, Himawari-chan." She replied with a gentle smile, causing the girl to smile widely.

"Who are you making it for?"

She stopped her knitting for a moment, staring at the half prepared scarf, she had no idea what caused her desire to create the red coloured accessory. "I do not know, Himawari-chan, a part of me just felt compelled to make it…"

* * *

><p>"Wow, Naruto, you were in there for a really long time!" Shion spoke giddily as her boyfriend left the confessional booth with a sour look on his face.<p>

He looked up towards her, creating a smile to offer back towards her. "Yeah, I guess I had more on my plate than I thought…" He looked back down towards the ground, thinking about the truly horrifying position he was stuck in mere moments ago, and all that had been spoken and transpired whilst there. "Let's… let's go home, yeah?"

* * *

><p>AN: Yo! Me again, as usual a few things to discuss:

1 - Bolt and Himawari - We didn't see much of them in Chapter 700 so it's hard to write about them, personality wise I mean, it's like their OC really at this present time.

2 - Shikadai, that's right, Shikamaru's kid is the only one that survives, I mean, gets pulled into this story.

3 - Shion, yeah from the first movie, that's Naruto girlfriend, I don't know why but I always enjoyed that pairing. And I'm going to have to make her dislikable, which is a shame, because if she isn't disliked, people won't Naruto and Hinata to get together.

4 - Religion, now this chapter suprisingly for me as well focused on Religion, I decided to make Shion Christian (because Christianity is probably the religion I know most about), and I wanted to give the chapter something to make it worth posting. That being said, like Business, I don't really know much about any and all religions. I'd consider myself Agnostic, I open to it, but just not fully convinced. And I do have a silent respect for the religious, I admire the ability to put so much faith into something which may not be true, I'm too scared to do the same. And I truly believe, even if you are Atheist, there are valuable lessons to learn not just from one religion, but all religions. Plus, you don't have to believe in a God in order to be nice to people, and you know, not commit murder or something. If you have read this chapter and are religious, I would be happy if you would share how this chapter affected you, and if I am incorrect in certain aspects please let me know so I can correct them. Similarly, if you read this chapter and felt offended, I deeply apologise, and know it wasn't my intent, please do not take my ignorance as mockery, especially with the part with Jiraiya, that was just for comedy. Religion will not play a prominent part in this story, I may revisit it on occasion but that's it.

Anyways, until next time.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Ahoy! Damn, 4 chapters in 8 days, I'm on a fricken role!

To pervvysage who reviewed - I also think it sounds weird to have Bolt-kun, so I'll be taking the kun of Bolt's name.

To the guest who reviewed asking if Himawari and Bolt are twins - You should really reread chapter 1, because Hinata tells Naruto in that chapter she had twins.

To gummy b3ars who reviewed - You asked for a longer chapter, so here is a longer chapter, and I wouldn't say Naruto is cold to Shion, as he is trying to mend their relationship. but what transpired in the past will be revealed soon.

Anyways, a long chapter a head of us, so sit back and blah blah blah blah blah

On with the show!:

* * *

><p>"Here is your desk, Hinata." She followed behind her cousin as he walked her through the top floor of Doujutsu, Neji's office was on a higher floor than her own apartment. "As I've already showed you the bathroom and kitchen we have up her, they are only really used by the four of us up here, and occasionally the security guards."<p>

He directed her to the large desk. "That's an ergonomic chair and keyboard, you'll be looking at the computer monitor a lot, so remember to take a short break away from it every hour or so. The monitor's stand is height and distance adjustable, so keep it at eye level at a comfortable distance Other than that, that is the tour of the 35th floor. If you have any further questions, just see me or see Karin. She is Sasuke's PA and Secretary, she's been here almost since opening day." Neji finished with a small, courteous smile, pointing behind him to a red haired woman around her own age sitting at a desk similar to hers on the opposite side of the large office space.

"Umm… Neji…" She began timidly, maybe she just shouldn't ask, Neji had already gifted her so much she didn't want to sound greedy. "I was just wondering, about a possible finish time. I was wondering if I could… if it would be possible if I-"

"Here is your contract, Hinata." Neji interjected, handing her an envelope. "You start at nine, and you finish at three, unless of course I urgently need you to stay later. But I'll give you plenty of notice beforehand should that be the case, and know that Tenten is always willing to help you out. If I need you to stay, she has agreed to pick them up." He gave her another smile, causing her to smile back gratefully. "I'll be in my office Hinata, I won't require you to stay past three today. I have a meeting at that time, but it's nothing I can't handle myself."

She nodded appreciatively, Hanabi was still to pick her children up at school today, but she could head home and prepare a dinner for all four of them.

She sat down at her desk, taking out of her bag a picture of herself and her two children and placing it on the wooden furniture. "Hey." She heard a woman call out, looking up she saw the red haired woman who previously sat outside a desk in front of the only other door that lead to an office. "Name's Karin. Karin Uzumaki, as Neji-san said, I'm Sasuke-san's secretary." She spoke cheerfully.

"H-Hello, my name is Hinata Hyuuga." She replied with a smile, she continued when she saw Karin's brow raise at her last name. "Neji-nii-san- I mean, Neji-san is my cousin."

"Oh, you must be the one Naruto was talking about!" Karin spoke happily. "I didn't know you were to be working here!"

"N-Naruto-san?" She looked at the red haired woman in confusion, thinking of the kind, blond man she had met only a few days ago. Apparently he had spoken about her, and judging by Karin's reaction, it was at least in a good light. But a part of her couldn't help but wonder how this Karin knew Naruto.

"_Yeah I got a girlfriend."_

Her eyes widened, her mind recalling the words he spoke at her apartment. She looked up at Karin, if this was the woman he mentioned, she could see why he would fall for her. She had a slim build, like Sakura, whom strangers would believe she was a model and not a doctor. She also had deep red eyes framed wonderfully by glasses and vibrant, beautiful long red hair she had tied back into a ponytail.

"Yeah, the big doofus is my cousin!" She beamed for a second, and Hinata could almost see a resemblance between them in the way they both smiled. "I always thought cousins were meant to not look alike, but damn, you and Neji could totally pass off as siblings!"

Hinata found it odd that she sighed in relief at the knowledge of how Karin and Naruto were related, as if the knowledge gave birth to a window of opportunity, not that it did though. As Naruto did say he had a girlfriend, and she barely knew him! "W-Well, Neji's father and my father were identical twins. S-So genetically speaking, you could say we are kind of like siblings."

"No kidding." Karin chuckled, before her eyes darted towards the picture she had place on her desk. "Ah, already personalising your workspace? I like it, show's you want to be here for the long run! I love it here myself!" She grinned, before taking the picture and spinning the picture so she could take a look. "Who are these kids?"

"T-They are my children…" Hinata gulped, she would remember past stares she would receive when she told people she had children, stares of disapproval, and stares of discontent.

"Really?" Karin asked, "No offence, but I didn't think you looked a day over twenty-five. How old are they?"

"I-I am twenty-five. And they just turned seven a few months ago. The boy is named Bolt, the girl Himawari." Hinata replied quietly.

"They're cute." Karin responded with a sweet smile. "Himawari looks a lot like you. But Bolt…" She paused for a moment, Hinata could see her eyes focus on the side of the picture where Bolt was. "He doesn't really look like you, but for some strange reason. He looks really familiar…"

"Oh no, he hasn't pulled a prank on you in the past, has he?" The blue haired woman asked worriedly, she always had a fear when people said they recognised Bolt, as it was usually followed by them confessing a prank he had pulled on them. Even random strangers to her would recognise him for his pranks!

"No! If he did, he would know about it!" Karin chuckled lightly. "I grew up with Naruto, there isn't a prank your kid could pull that I haven't seen before, or I wouldn't be able to counter!"

Hinata giggled back towards the red haired woman. "Anyways, if you need anything I'll be right over there. But I should warn you now, in the event myself or Neji aren't around, it is not, I repeat NOT a good idea to disturb Sasuke-san with your query. Sasuke-san hates to be disturbed."

* * *

><p>"Man I hate wearing these things!" The blond man grumbled loudly as he pulled on the orange tie around his neck, it stuck out from his black suit with a white shirt underneath. "And why are you here, Shikamaru?" He turned to see his black haired friend, similarly dressed in a black suit and tie leaning against the wall to his room.<p>

"To make sure you put that on." He replied in a dragged out voice. "I know you can walk into our meetings wearing shorts and sandals, but this is an important meeting with a potential business partner. You have to look the part."

"I get it, man, jeez." Naruto whined loudly, adjusting the tie a few more times until it felt at least partially comfortable. "Do you really think we can get this deal, Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, they need us as much as we need them." Shikamaru nodded quickly. "I want this to be an amicable partnership obviously that benefits both parties mutually to the greatest extent. But we live in troublesome times, so I've done some digging. If push comes to shove I can have them eating out the palm of our hands if I need to."

"I don't doubt you on that." Naruto beamed ecstatically, adjusting his blazer once more. "Let's go meet Gaara and get this over with so I can get out of this monkey get up-ttebayo!"

* * *

><p>"About time you showed up, you're almost late." Gaara stood outside the massive building, dressed in a pristine white suit as Naruto and Shikamaru approached him. With a serious amount of hair products, Gaara's usually unruly spiky hair had been kept down and flat.<p>

"Sorry, Naruto was complaining worse than Shikadai." Shikamaru answered for the both of them, the three of them stared up at the immaculate building. "Let's go."

The went through the automatic doors, before they even took ten steps into the building they were stopped by a white haired man of average height dressed in a black suit, his medium length hair pushed back. Dark purple eyes glared at them, and a badge displaying the word 'security' made him instantly recognisable. "Can I help you guys?"

"Yes, we have a meeting with Neji Hyuuga-san at three o'clock." Shikamaru answered for the three of them, standing in between the blond and red haired men.

The security guard brought up the clipboard he held in his hand, glancing through papers attached to it. "Hmm, can I get your names and some identification please?"

The three of them nodded, handing over their driving licences. "The names are Shikamaru Nara, Gaara Sabaku, and Naruto Namikaze, we are here on behalf of Dattebayo Lifestyle Management and Recreation Centres."

"Yes, here you are." The security guard nodded, giving them a small grin. "Here or your licences back. Please sign in at the front desk and collect visitor passes. Juugo there will direct you to Neji-san's office." He nodded behind them.

"Geez, you're big." Naruto exclaimed immediately when they turned, a man in a similar suit to the other security guard, with a security badge himself. With a head of wild spiky orange hair and red-orange eyes. "You've gotta be what, 6'9?" Naruto's head bent backwards to look up at the security guard, he wasn't just tall, while the other security guard had a rather average build, this guy looked like he was built like a tank. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "There mustn't be much to do security wise around here with you around?"

"Since my employment began here I have yet to see an incident." The man, Juugo responded in a calm voice.

"Yeah three guesses why big man." Naruto chuckled again, patting the huge security guard on the trunk of an arm. "This way to the front desk, yeah?"

"Yes, please follow me gentlemen." Juugo responded with a curt nod. He began to walk towards the front desk, and Shikamaru, Naruto and Gaara followed closely behind him.

* * *

><p>"Hinata," She turned at the sound of Neji calling her name. "It's almost three, you can go now. I'll see you tomorrow."<p>

"Yes, and thank you again, Neji-san." She smiled, before turning off her computer. She bowed quickly to Neji, and waved to Karin who had waved at her before she turned and began to walk to one of the two elevators that led to the 35th floor. These elevators only went between the 34th and 35th floors. Meaning she would have to get into a new elevator to get back down to the lobby.

She pressed the button and the doors opened to allow her entry. Just as she pressed the button to close the door, she heard the other elevator open and a deep, calm voice speak out.

"Just this way gentlemen."

* * *

><p>"Just this way gentlemen." They followed Juugo out of the elevator onto the 35th floor's large office space, they continued walking forwards, as they did Naruto turned, seeing the other elevator's doors close and proceed to drop to the lower floor.<p>

His brow furrowed, it felt as almost as if he had just missed something important, but he wasn't sure why he got this feeling. "Naruto!"

He heard his name called, he turned to see he had stopped in his place, seeing Karin waving over to him. He smiled and approached her, where Juugo, Shikamaru and Gaara waited for him. "Glad to see you turned up on time!"

"I've got Shikamaru and Gaara to thank for that." Naruto beamed in return, causing Karin to laugh lightly.

"Karin, I'll leave them with you." Juugo bowed to the red haired woman, before giving another bow to the three visitors before departing.

"Shikamaru, Gaara, this is my cousin Karin. Karin, this is Shikamaru and Gaara, these guys are the brains behind Dattebayo!" Naruto gave out the introductions.

"I hope they do all the talking as well." Karin jokingly spoke, gaining an annoyed stare from her blond cousin. "Neji's waiting for you, I'll lead you in."

They followed behind her to one of the two doors, she knocked carefully before opening the door. "Neji-san, your three o'clock is here."

"Excellent, send them in." Karin moved to allow the men in. A man with long brown hair and pale white eyes stood from his chair, walking towards them. "Hello, I am Neji Hyuuga, co-founder, co-owner, co-CEO, staffing manager and liaison manager." He offered his right hand out to them.

"Shikamaru Nara." Shikamaru spoke first, grabbing his hand before walking further into the office.

"Naruto Namikaze." Naruto followed after, shaking Neji's hand.

"Gaara Sabaku." Gaara offered a small bow to accompany his hand shake.

"Take a seat gentlemen." Neji offered three chairs in front of his desk to them, before moving to his own chair on the other side. "I'm glad we were able to have this discussion so early in your plans for expansion. Karin told me she had heard your plans towards it."

"Before we go any further, Hyuuga-san. I must ask your consent to record this conversation for future reference." Gaara spoke, taking out a small audio device.

Neji's eyes narrowed, looking at the small device. "I see no reason why not. Though I will request a copy of the audio log myself, I must ask why you would feel the need?"

Shikamaru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Give it ten minutes."

* * *

><p>A tick of annoyance flecked through Neji's eyes as he stared at the blonde haired man, lolled back in his chair and a gentle snore emitting through his nose. "As I was saying…" Shikamaru spoke slowly, looking at the blonde haired man himself. "As you can see from our profits and loss accounts, and profits have risen like clockwork since our opening year three years ago, our inward revenue is almost quadruple our outgoing expenses. Our most recent customer survey of over 250 people show an almost complete customer satisfaction rate, granted, as a businessman yourself, you know you can't please all your customers. We're getting a great reputation, one definitely worth considering on your side of this deal as well."<p>

"Hmm, yes, figures and customers are all well and good, but as a business man yourself, Nara-san. You know that isn't everything, I've had men like you come in to this very office, preaching the exact same high standards and dreams of further expansion, and I've seen their dreams turn to ruin. How can you ensure me that you will not be the same, that this deal will be beneficial on Doujutsu's part as well?" Neji asked carefully, pulling his gaze off the sleeping blond and back to the black haired man sat in the centre.

"Simple, we don't have a dream. Our plans are very much a reality." Shikamaru spoke with a confident smirk.

Gaara pulled out a file from the briefcase at his side, sliding it across the desk to Neji, who opened it and began examining the contents. "We've had multiple plans for expansion of the past few months, we boiled it down to two. However this is the one we plan to go with, we'll play it safe at not shoot over our reach."

"Suna?" Neji looked up from the file towards the two men, "A bit far for your first expansion, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, but we've agreed this is the option with the most potential." Shikamaru retorted calmly. "For one, Suna has less competition than Konoha in our area of business. And as you must be aware, Suna's growing population, workforce and economy over the past decade or so has opened a large window of opportunity for businesses, especially up and coming businesses like us. Furthermore, based on a survey of the general population of Suna, the people want to see a business, a centre like ours in their vicinity."

"You're right. Suna has been growing impressively, and many business are looking towards it for expansion and outsourcing. And as I'm sure you are aware, you won't be the only business specialising in Lifestyle management and Recreation looking towards them. How can you be sure you'll be able to topple them in reach the most customers?"

"Simple. We'll beat them there. Please turn to the next page in the file." Shikamaru answered coolly, waiting for Neji to turn the page. "That is the land we've bought in Suna, right in the heart of the city. We'll have our construction permit by the end of next week, we expect primary construction to be completed within the next eight months, the interior and staffing to be done within the following the three months, and open to the public before the year's out."

"I'll admit, you've come more prepared than anyone I've seen before." Neji spoke with a curt smile, closing the file and sliding it back to Gaara. "Now the question you've probably had to plan for the most. How will this venture into Suna be beneficial to my own company? Sabaku-san, you are the Accounts manager, correct? Then you should know that a venture into another country is a much more sizable… and expensive investment, especially on our part."

"Yes it is, but definitely worth the investment," Gaara answered as coolly as Shikamaru had previously. "After all, Hyuuga-san. You're just like us, an up and coming business fighting against older companies with firm and old roots. And just like us, you are getting a formidable reputation, you're game changers in your industry as we are in ours,"

"Flattery will not get this deal, Gaara-san." Neji gave off a slight, dry chuckle.

"No, but potential expansion for your own company will." Gaara responded with a confident smile. "As I was saying you're just like us, you haven't expanded yet. You've got the reputation in Konoha as we do. And when our venture is successful in Suna… when our brand name is plastered across every billboard Suna, when our brand name is beamed through every television set in the city… your brand name will be there right along aside it."

When Neji's eyebrow rose with a tinge of interested, Shikamaru and Gaara both smiled, under the table the bumped fists. They fricken had this. "But what we're offering in return is more than just profits and expansion to you, Hyuuga-san. I've researched how you work. You offer rolling temporary deals, cut ties with the business that fail, and hang on to the ones that thrive, but that is only getting you so far, if the ones that are successful decide to look at a new marketing assistant, you've got no ties to keep them to you, they just wait for the contract to expire and carry on their merry way… What we're offering to you is for the long haul, as Gaara said you're just like us, a company we can relate to in terms of our visions of the future. We both want to dominate our industries. Doujutsu was our first choice for a marketing assistant and partner, and we want you to be our last choice. We'll even throw in lifetime memberships to Dattebayo for your employees."

Neji brought his linked fingers in front of his face, staring down the two of them calmly. "And what, Nara-san, would you ask for in exchange for such loyalty?"

"The same." Shikamaru responded as coolly as he had been throughout this entire meeting. "We would expect your loyalty to us. When our venture is successful, you'll no doubt gain the eye of hundreds of companies, some in the same business as us. We will not contact your competitors, you do not contact ours, and it's as simple as that."

Neji let out a dry chuckle once again. "You're good, I'll give you that. Though a word of advice…" Neji's eyes darted towards the sleeping blond. "Don't bring him to meetings like these."

"Kind of have to." Shikamaru sighed loudly. "He's owner, founder and majority shareholder of Dattebayo. At the end of it all, he's the one that makes the decision."

"Well I'm thankful he has a decent mind working for him." He smiled towards the black haired man, who smiled back. "I'll admit, I believe this venture of yours can work. You've got the motivation for it. Of course, I cannot make these decisions myself, even if I believe this partnership can work. I'll run this all past my business partner, but I don't see any reason why Sasuke wouldn't be agreeable-"

"What!? Sasuke!?" Naruto's eyes darted open, he looked around angrily. "This is Sasuke's company!? That bastard!"

Naruto rocketed out of the room, storming across the office and towards the other office door. "N-Naruto, stop! You can't go in there! Sasuke's extremely busy right now!" Karin panicked as she saw her blond haired cousin charge towards the door her desk stood in front.

"SASUKE!" Naruto burst into the offices. An a tall man with shimmering raven black hair spiked at the back looked upwards, his black blazer hung off the back of his chair behind him, and his shirt's white sleeves had been rolled up and his collar unbuttoned. In his hands was gripped a long putter, he stood over unrolled length of artificial grass, a white ball positioned ready to be struck towards a hole at the opposite length of the green.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" The man's onyx eyes narrowed towards the blond intruder, however Naruto himself only seethed further in anger.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Naruto barked back angrily. "Why didn't you say you were back in Konoha!? That's what friends are supposed to do, y'know! A telephone call, an email, a text, I would have taken a goddamn messenger pigeon!"

"Naruto, do you want to do something later this week?" Sasuke asked dully, looking as the blond man's anger began to subside.

"Uh… yeah sure…"

"Good, now take seven steps backwards."

"Sure, Sasuke." Naruto nodded, following Sasuke's request and taking seven steps backs.

"Now grab the door handle."

"Yeap."

"And pull it towards you."

"Okay." Naruto beamed, closing the door, only after that did he realise that he was on the other side of the door, leaving Sasuke alone in his office. He grumbled audibly to himself, "Asshole…"

* * *

><p>Shikamaru closed the door to his home behind him, hours after the meeting took place and he had returned to finish agendas left at Dattebayo.<p>

He leaned back against the large wooden door, Naruto loved the city, so he had made his home there. Gaara found an apartment in the city not out of a love for it, but as a matter of convenience, it was closer to work and closer to the airport should he need to fly back to Suna.

Shikamaru was not the same as them, he didn't particularly like the hustle and bustle of the city, he preferred a peace and quiet. Hence he had found his home in the outer suburbs beyond Konoha. He looked around at his large house, three floors, seven bedrooms for when they had guests, a swimming pool that went barely used and a large grass garden.

He sighed loudly, kicking his shoes off and went through the house, looking for people. There was no one about, not in the living area, not in the dining room or kitchen.

But he found someone beyond that, sitting on the patio beyond the doors to the garden on a large sun chair under a parasol, a gentle breeze flowing gently through her tied back. He approached her quietly, she was focused on a book nestled within her hands.

"What honestly made you believe you could sneak up on me?" He heard her call out as he was inches away from her. He sighed loudly, leaning over the back of the chair and wrapping his arms around her neck.

"I thought today might be different, I've had a lucky day after all Temari." He kissed the top of her head, before moving to sit in the sun chair next to her.

He caught her smiling at him, bright green eyes softening as he sat down. "So I take it the meeting went well?"

"It went okay…" He sighed again, sliding back into the chair and undoing the tie around his neck. "Naruto fell asleep during it then pretty much verbally assaulted one of the co-CEOs."

The woman laughed loudly at his explanation. "Were you expecting anything less?"

"All things considered I expected something more, I expected him to break something while we were there." He replied, digging through his pockets and pulling out a small pack of cigarettes, plucking one out and putting it to his mouth. "I swear, the amount of stress that idiot puts me through will be the death of me."

"No," She replied, leaning across and pulling the cigarette from his mouth before he could light it. "These will be the death of you." She snapped the small cigarette in half.

He looked at her face, then towards the broken cigarette spread between her two hands before sighing for yet another time, taking a fresh cigarette out and lighting it. "Where's Dai?"

"Up by the tree with his friend." Temari's head nodded in the direction of the large tree in the centre of their garden, and upon further inspection, he could see two figures resting in the shade underneath it. "Shikadai! Your dad's home, dinner will be served soon!" He heard Temari call out again, standing up from her sun chair.

He saw the two small figures scramble to their feet, one charged ahead of the other, who took a leisurely pace back towards the house.

"Yo, Shikadai's dad!" The quicker figure approached him, with thick spiky blond hair and blue, almost lilac eyes. "The name's Bolt Hyuuga! Thanks for having me round today-ttebasa!"

'_Hyuuga?_' Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at the small kid, the same last name as Neji. Was there a relation between the two of them.

"Don't be a kiss up, Bolt." Shikadai mumbled as he strolled past the two of them. "Then my parents will expect the same from me, and that's far too troublesome…"

"Eh? Don't be such a lazy smartypants, Dai!" The blond boy's growled in frustration, before taking off inside after his own son.

"It's cute." He heard Temari speak with a small smile, "Reminds me of another dysfunctional duo I know."

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru turned in to chair to watch the two boys walk towards the dining room, but his eyes focused on the blonde boy, Bolt.

"Reminds me of you and Naruto. Give it half an hour and you'll be thinking the same thing." Temari laughed quietly to herself. "If I isn't horrifying enough that Bolt looks like a mini version of Naruto, he's got the same attitude as well. You sure Naruto doesn't have any kids?"

"Yeah…" His eyes focused harder on the back of the blond boy. "Quite positive…"

* * *

><p>Shikamaru knocked on the door quickly after dragging himself up 26 flights of stairs. Shikadai and Bolt both stood in front of him. He had offered to take Bolt home, and dragged Shikadai along with him as it was manners to see a guest off.<p>

The door opened, seeing a petite woman with long blue hair and lavender eyes on the other side. "Hey mom! Thanks for having me round Dai, I'll see you at school tomorrow!" Bolt waved for sprinting into his home.

A small girl peeked her head around the door, she looked just like the woman in front of him, and a light blush appeared across her face. "H-Hello, Shikadai-kun."

"Hey, Himawari." Shikadai mumbled back, staring aware from the door, his back slouched and his hands crammed in his pockets.

"Thank you for taking care of Bolt, I hope he wasn't any trouble today." The woman spoke with a small smile, however she trembled slightly when the man in front of her continued staring at her, the ways his eyes narrowed, and it was almost as if they displayed a sense of recognition. "I-Is there something wrong?"

"No, sorry. My girlfriend said he was very well behaved and well mannered, she said she'd have him over again." The man finally responded. "Sorry, my name's Shikamaru Nara, this guy's dad." He pointed down towards the boy standing beside him.

Not that she had a doubt, apart from the shape and colour of the eyes, the two were exact copies of each other. Same hair colour, same facial structure, even the same posture. "I'm Hinata Hyuuga, once again thank you for looking after Bolt today."

"No problem, well we best be going. If Shikadai ever comes here or if Bolt ever comes back to our house again. I guess we'll be seeing each other again." He gave her a small bow and a smile.

"Yes, well goodbye." The woman smiled back, before gently closing the door. Shikamaru and his son turned, heading towards the stairs. Shikadai looked up at his dad's frowning face, deep within his own thoughts.

"Hey dad, something the matter?" He asked curiously as they began the long march back to the car.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Shikamaru responded, walking down the stairs carefully.

However, everything was not fine. Something had been bugging him ever since Temari had brought it up, she was right, the way Bolt looked and acted… It was just like Naruto.

"You sure Naruto doesn't have any kids?"

That was why he offered to take Bolt home, knowing he would have to meet Bolt's mother when he dropped him off. Shikamaru was not the sort to forget a face, especially considering his eidetic memory and Hyperthymesia.

'_So the girl Naruto's ditched us for on his eighteenth birthday party is Bolt's mom…'_ He concluded as he continued down the stairs towards his car. _'So Naruto really did jump the sack with her. If I didn't have actually living memory in Bolt, I think I still wouldn't believe he did.'_

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Yo! So there's the next chapter, Shikamaru the sneaky devil has sussed it out! What will happen now that Shikamaru has discovered a rather shocking fact? Find out on the next episode of Pokemon! Sorry, wrong show.

Anyways, as always a few things to discuss:

1 - Naruto and Hinata not meeting at Doujutsu? I did originally plan it, but I wanted Shikamaru to be the first person to say 'Naruto got Hinata pregnant', and he would have recognised her if they met at their meeting.

2 - Juugo, yes the security guard is Juugo, and the other was obviously Mangestu... Just kidding, it was Suigetsu. Juugo's height is really the topic of discussion, in Canon, at aged 18-19 Juuso stands at 202cm (Or 6'6"), as Naruto, and Sasuke and the like are all twenty five, Juugo would be 27-28, so I added a bit more height to him.

3 - Temari is Shikamaru's girlfriend, not wife!? Yes ShikaTem fans, Temari is still the mother to Shikadai, as this is set in a more modern setting, Shikamaru and Temari just haven't got married yet, doesn't mean they haven't been together for a long time they might as well be married, in this fic, they've been together for at least 10 years. This will be explained.

4 - Konoha and Suna, a lot of talk is going on about Suna's increase in population and wealth, and Konoha is already pretty strong, if I was going to liken them to actual geographical cities. Konoha is kind of like London or New York city, while Suna is more like Rio de Janeiro or Dubai, as they have both had massive boosts to their econmies and are both rapidly developing countries... At least I think

Anyways, that's all for this chapter, what will happen next? I really don't know..

Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Yo! So here we are with Chapter 5, It's a pretty short chapter, and it's the one I always fear as an author. If you're an author yourself you might understand. This is the chpater that transitions the story from where it is to where you want it to be, or like the prologue to act 1 or ct 1 to act 2, you get the picture.

Anyways, on with the show!:

* * *

><p>"So what can we do? If the children's classes have numbers that are starting to decline, there's got to be a reason behind it?"<p>

"It could be the fact that the children's classes are expensive. People might not have 3000¥ to spend a month anymore. Plus we only hold them during certain hours of the day."

"Well, lower the prices then?"

"It's not as simple as that, Naruto."

"Of course it is Gaara. One person spending 3000¥ a month of membership for children, or 5 people spending 1200¥ a month on membership for children, which is the bigger sum?"

"It's still not as simple as that, Naruto."

"Why not? We can host more evening classes, more weekend classes, and more holiday classes for kids. I don't see the problem!"

"Shikamaru, tell him…" Gaara looked over to the black haired man, who sat with his hands resting in front of his face, he continued staring intently at Naruto, who it didn't go unnoticed by.

"What? Something on my face?" Naruto asked, before slapping the sides of his face harshly, trying to remove what imaginable smudge he believed marked his face.

'_I can't believe this guy had kids at the same time as me_.' Shikamaru thought to himself, watching Naruto beat the hell out of himself trying to clean his face. He remembered speaking to Shikadai about them after they dropped Bolt off. Bolt was a twin apparently, to that girl, Himawari he saw in their apartment. Shikadai also said that Bolt once mentioned he didn't have a dad, didn't need a dad, and didn't want a dad. 'I can't believe that Naruto, whose been going on about having kids since we were fifteen would just up and ditch them…'

"Hey Shika, is it off?" He refocused on Naruto's words, seeing the large red marks across his face.

"No, not yet." Shikamaru smirked as Naruto groaned before returning to smack himself silly, Gaara looked over in amusement as Naruto beat himself trying to get off something that wasn't there. The guy was an idiot yes, but he wasn't someone to shirk away from a responsibility, he wouldn't leave those kids without their dad, and no offence to the girl for where she was situated, but he wouldn't have left them in such a crappy neighbourhood. '_He doesn't know…_'

* * *

><p>"That idiot, Naruto… I wonder how he did it…" Sasuke pondered as he looked over the city's skyline from his office's window for a wall. "Making a business as successful as he has."<p>

"He made have made it, but clearly he's not the one who runs it." Neji sat on the other side of the desk. "That Shikamaru Nara, he's smart, almost dangerously smart. I've seen people waltz in to my office and stutter out their plans for the future. That guy knew exactly what he wanted to do, and exactly the position he wanted to put us in."

"I suppose…" Sasuke responded, stilling staring out of the window. "So what he wants is something we haven't given before, loyalty for the price of loyalty. What do you think?"

"I think we'd be stupid to turn them down flat. Their reputation is strong, and growing rapidly, more rapidly than ours. Our deal with them will definitely be good for our portfolio." Neji retorted bluntly and honestly. "They won't fail, not with that Shikamaru at the helm."

"You're right, but we also can't afford to look weak, to look like they have full command over us." Sasuke spun in his chair to face Neji, the contract they were devising spread in front of them. "Naruto's a friend, but this is a business, and this is just a deal between two businesses, not friends. We need to show they need us more then we need them."

"So what do you think we should do?"

Sasuke smirked at Neji's question, as a businessman, a businessman determined to see the prosperity of his business, the answer was rather obvious.

* * *

><p>"So what's up, Shika? It's quite rare for you to want to hang out for lunch." Naruto beamed towards his black haired CEO and friend, as they picked up their custom made sandwiches for one store of a popular chain of fast food restaurants.<p>

"Well since things have been picking up we haven't had much time to talk like we used to." Shikamaru spoke with a cigarette in his mouth as they walked towards the park in the centre of the city.

"We could have just talked in the restaurant in Dattebayo, Choji makes great food!" Naruto grinned again. Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru's childhood friend and an old school friend of Naruto's, and also the son of the owner of the Akimichi restaurant chain. Very grandiose restaurants serving a whole variety of foods.

He remembered when Dattebayo was starting up, he insisted on it having its own restaurant and café for the customers and staff. And he didn't quite know how Shikamaru talked Choza into getting his chain of restaurants to combine into and sponsor the restaurant they were building, but Choji took the job as Head Chef and restaurant manager. And people seemed to turn up more when they heard that they served Akimichi cuisine.

"I can't have these inside Dattebayo." Shikamaru held up the burning cigarette in between his fingers, before flicking the blackened ash from the tip. "Besides, it's nice to get out of the office once in a while. Here's good." Shikamaru redirected himself towards a park bench, sitting down on it before stubbing out the cigarette on top of the bin beside it. "Hey, Naruto, do you ever see Kiba nowadays?"

"No, last time I saw the Kekkei Genkai wannabe was… pfft at Dattebayo's one year anniversary party. Didn't see or hear from him years before that, haven't seen or heard of him since." Naruto was unable to hide the sour look on his face. Kiba was a close friend when they were children, they were inseparable in grade school. But when it came to move into the next step of education after grade school. Kiba had opted to go to Hagaromo's school of Excellence. A snobby, preppy private school while Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji stayed in the public school; Konoha High.

Shikamaru gave a small snort of laughter, "Remember when we ditched Iruka-sensei's class and went to the Lake Tobirama?"

"Yeah! Choji brought a portable barbeque and Kiba went doggy paddling round the Lake for like fifteen minutes! He smelled like wet dog for hours!" Naruto laughed back heartily, before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Or there was the time we skipped school for the day and went to that run down hotel? You and Kiba were competing for hours to see who could lift the heaviest piece of junk?"

"Yeah, I remember you saying that it was a waste of space, lying unused in the middle of the city. I remember telling you not to worry, that one day I'd build something there that would get people to see it again."

"You weren't lying." Shikamaru answered back, taking a bite of his sandwich. "It was always your thing, never going back on your word or making up lies. You came back to that crappy hotel, tore it down and built Dattebayo. Your promises, Choji's cooking, my smarts and Kiba's nose for trouble. We made a weird group…"

Naruto smiled back with a large grin showing both sets of white teeth, before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Hey, Naruto, do you remember your 18th birthday party, when we went to that little club, Hamura's?" Shikamaru eyed the blonde man next to him, Shikamaru was not the type to live in the past, and he hadn't just spent time prattling on about it for nothing.

"Some of it, I don't remember. Things got pretty messy!" Naruto laughed again, thinking back to his first legal night out. He was the youngest of the four, and thus when Choji and Kiba graduated school before them, Naruto and Shikamaru were left to face the last year of school together. "Why?"

"I was just thinking about that girl you told us about, it was the first time I ever really saw you having any genuine one on one interaction with a girl, in fact it was the only time until you met Shion." Shikamaru mused while taking a bite of his own sandwich. "You know the one… the one you apparently…"

"Look, Shika I told you the story. You just said it wasn't like me to lie." Naruto grumbled out, giving the black haired man next to him a harsh glare.

"I know, but you never really spoke about it. No offence but to this day it still sounds a little unbelievable." Shikamaru retorted, squeezing and squirming a legitimate story Naruto refused to tell.

"You want the story?" Naruto looked at him proper. "I was pretty out of my head, and I met this girl. She said she felt uncomfortable because it was a student night at that club and her and her friends dolled themselves up so they could get in because they were still seventeen. We carried on talking to each other, I told you I was too drunk to even think about asking for her name or her number, and if I remember she was the same, she forgot to ask me anything like that as well. Next thing I know I wake up in some hotel room naked and alone with like fifty voicemails from you, Choji, Kiba and even my parents asking where the hell I am. That's all there was too it."

"And you don't remember anything else about her, what she looked like?" Shikamaru asked again with a raised eyebrow. The tone in the blonde's voice, the emotion. Shikamaru knew he wasn't lying so far.

"I remember she had dark hair, and she had the really pretty eyes. I'd never seen anything like them before…" Naruto laughed solemnly to himself, a small blush to his face. "And I remember talking with her, I can't remember what about, I just remember the feeling I got from just talking to her, the connection. It's weird, I was with that girl one night, and I've been with Shion for like four years now, it's a horrible thing to say, but I've always felt… I dunno, closer to that girl than I've ever done Shion…"

"Things have really got that crappy between you two, huh?"

"Yeah, ever since that time…" Naruto looked down to the ground slowly, "But enough about my crappy love life, you gonna tie the knot with Temari yet?"

"Why would I want to?" Shikamaru asked lazily, throwing the wrapping off his sandwich into the bin before taking out a new cigarette.

"Well you guys have been together since you were fifteen, you'll be turning twenty-six in a month. That's almost eleven years." Naruto responded with a laugh.

"Yeah, that's longer than most marriages last these days." Shikamaru responded with a lazy drag of his cigarette. "Me and Temari have a good thing going, we don't need some big fancy expansive day to prove what we already know. Besides, all that hassle planning it… far too trablesome."

"Yeah, but don't you want to make it, I dunno official or something? I know I'd like to be able to say 'Hey, this is my wife', y'know?" Naruto asked with a smile on his face.

Shikamaru gave a small grunt to himself, blowing out smoke before putting out his cigarette on the bin. "Let's go back yeah, we've still got loads to do with this expansion."

* * *

><p>Hinata continued with knitting the long red scarf when a loud resounding knock echoed through her small apartment. Gently she placed the almost completed scarf on the table before walking over to the door.<p>

"Ah hello, you are Shikadai's father yes?" She asked with a kind smile, seeing the black haired man standing on the other side of the door.

"Uh… yeah, sorry for coming round at this time…" He mumbled out quietly to himself, rubbing the back of his head. "Is it okay if I come inside?"

Hinata turned to see the time on the clock, before turning back to him, giving him a small nod before moving to allow him entry.

He looked quickly around the apartment. "Bolt and Himawari in bed?"

"Y-yes." She responded, ushering him to the couch to take a seat.

"Good, because this concerns them and I'm guessing you don't want them to know about this yet." Shikamaru answered as he eased into a seat. "Is it okay to ask about their father?"

"U-Um… T-They don't have a father." Hinata responded hesitantly, tucking her hair behind her shoulder.

"Well, that's not true. They wouldn't be here if they didn't." Shikamaru responded a dry smirk. "I don't really know how best to say this, so I'm just gonna come out and say it…"

"I know who their father is…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**_ Yo! Me again, don't have much to discuss this time.

Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Yo! Damn! 71 reviews in 5 chapters, I don't think I've had a story this well received since A Kindred Spirt in it's prime... man I should update that... and Becoming the Legend... and Fairy Tail Utopia both versions... oh well, what ya gonna do! Anyways, a big thank you for believing in this project, it really means a lot.

Saying that, again this is a shorter chapter, than some previous ones, but I know how much I want to fit into a chapter, and if there isn't that much to talk about, I'm not going to waffle on trying to rack up 5K words, everyone'd get bored.

Another thing to bring up, a few reviews have said "Wouldn't Bolt and Himawaru be recognisable as Naruto's kids because of the whisker marks?". The answer is no. Because in this story, their is no 100ft Demon Fox to be sealed into Kushina, (I still think it's a stupid idea that the ninja world is like 'Oh, the seal gets really weak during childbirth, so let's seal the demons in women! What could possibly go wrong' (Enter Tobi)), therefore the Kyuubi was not present during Naruto's birth, so he never got whisker marks, simples yeah?

Anyway's on with the show!:

* * *

><p>"My… My children's father?" She stumbled out quietly, staring at the black haired man sat across for her. "H-How would you know-"<p>

"I know it sounds weird, and you don't have to believe me, and I even might be wrong…" Shikamaru responded, taking out a few photographs from his jacket. "But you son, Bolt, he reminds me of my friend, he looks like him when he was younger as well, see?"

He slid her the first photograph, she looked at it, seeing a small blond boy with great big blue eyes standing next to a grumpy looking black haired boy who looking like a smaller version of Shikamaru. "You've met him once, at Hamura's club seven years ago, in October."

She looked up from the picture with shock. "H-How do you know that?"

"Because I was there with him, it was his 18th birthday party after all." Shikamaru smiled again handing her another picture, this one was the same two boys, but now teenagers, the blonde looked ecstatic, and completely out his face, like he was screaming at the camera. The black haired boy besides him looked ticked off, but with a tipsy look to his face. "Look in the background of that picture." He added, causing her to squint at the background.

And she saw it, a blue haired girl with shoulder length blue her shaped in a bowl cut fashion, dressed in a simple purple dress sat at the bar, staring behind her towards the two boys, she saw her eyes particularly focused on the blond haired boy. "T-That's me."

"Yeah, and if my memory and my serves me right. You went away with this guy later that night, he disappeared later as well. This may all be a long shot, but when I dropped off Bolt the other day, I recognised you straight away." Shikamaru nodded back to her. "His name is Naruto Namikaze."

"Naruto-san?" She asked, thinking of the blonde man she had met a few days ago.

"Yeah, you know him?" Shikamaru retorted, eyeing the recollection in her eyes.

"Y-Yes, I met him in the store a few days ago. H-he was very nice and helped me." She smiled sweetly to herself. "Then… then he said something, something that reminded me of the boy, the father of Bolt and Himawari, but it was just a feeling, a fleeting moment, I haven't really seen him since to confirm anything."

"Well, I think this is their dad. He's one of my best friends, a bit dense sometimes but he means well." Shikamaru smiled. "This is just my guess, he might not be him, but jeez your son really looks like him, it can't be just a coincidence that your seven year old kid looks just like him and you were there seven years ago at Hamura's."

"W-Why are you telling me this?" She asked the black haired man curiously, not sure why he was divulging all his theories with her.

"Because he's always telling me how much he wants kids. And between you and me, his girlfriend has been… how do I word this… a bitch, recently." Hinata's face flared with a faints blush at his choice of words. "And he thinks about you, or at least the girl he met all those years ago. I may be cruel for saying this, but I'm kinda hoping, if he meets you, he'll get out of that relationship. I know he's trying to fix things with her, but he's one of my best friends, and from an outside view, there is no fixing it, it's just poisonous."

Shikamaru's eyes darted down the hall, obviously looking towards the children's bedrooms. "And I'm not saying you should run up to him and tell him that he has two kids, I'm not saying you even have to tell them or even listen to me. But those kids… they have the right to know who their father is if they want to."

* * *

><p>"<em>They have the right to know who their father is if they want to."<em>

Hinata thought about the words she heard last night from the black haired man, he had left the photos for her, and she stared at that blonde boy in them for hours, without a shadow of a doubt this was the boy she met, the one she gave herself to. That same blond hair, he same bright blue eyes and that same smile, she could almost feel his personality through just the photo.

"Hinata!" She was snapped out of her trance by Neji, who stood in front of her desk with a brown envelope in his hand. "I need you to take to Dattebayo across town. It's a contract of service."

"Y-Yes," She responded, taking the envelope from Neji. "Who is it to be delivered too?"

"Shikamaru Nara, if possible." Neji responded, causing Hinata's eyes to widen with surprise at the name. "If not, deliver it to Gaara Sabaku or Naruto Namikaze. Oh and it's almost three, it'll take a good forty-five minutes to get there by bus, so just go pick up the kids after you've dropped it off."

Her breath was hitched at the sound of the blond haired man's name. He had mentioned he worked at Dattebayo when she met him a few days ago, "U-Uh yes, thank you, Neji-san…"

* * *

><p>"Hello, welcome to Dattebayo, can I see your membership pass please?" A pretty blond girl with bright brown eyes smiled towards her from behind a reception desk.<p>

"S-Sorry, I'm not a member. I-I'm here on behalf of Doujutsu. I am here to see Shikamaru Nara-san." Hinata replied humbly, showing her a pass from Doujutsu.

"Ah sorry, ma'am, Shikamaru-san is unavailable at this time." The girl replied with a kind smile.

"O-Oh, how about a Gaara Sabaku-san, o-or… a Naruto N-Namikaze-san?" Hinata retorted, still struggling to say his name after what Shikamaru had disclosed to her the other night.

"Yes! Gaara-san is also unavailable at this present time, but Naruto is available." The girl chirped happily, before pressing a buzzer at the side of her computer. "Naruto, a Miss-…"

"Hyuuga."

"Hyuuga is here to see you from Doujutsu."

"_**Thanks Lucy! Send her up!**_" A voice boomed back from the buzzer, the girl smiled and turned back to her. "On the fifth floor, Miss Hyuuga san. Just go left when you exit the elevator, and follow the corridor, it's the big office at the end."

"T-Thank you." Hinata gave a quick bow to the blond receptionist before scurrying towards the elevator, quickly pressing a button to open the door.

"Hold the door please!" She heard a voice shout, holding the door open for a man to rush in panting, dressed in a pair of tracksuit bottoms, comfortable gym sneakers and a tight orange shirt with Dattebayo wrote across the front. "Thank you!" He grinned, flicking his spiky rosy coloured hair backwards.

"N-No problem." She smiled back. "W-What floor?"

"Just the third." He grinned back, pressing the button and the doors closed. "Glad I got here in the nick of time! I was almost late for my class! So, you a new member?" He laughed loudly to fill the quiet elevator.

"N-No, I'm just here to give something to Namikaze-san." Hinata replied with a polite smile.

"Oh, well say hi to Naruto for me!" He laughed again as the elevator. "Well here's my stop!" He grinned once more before darting out of the elevator and through the doors directly across from them. "OKAY EVERYONE, LET'S GET FIRED UP!"

Hinata smiled again, everyone here appeared to be so very cheery. The elevator closed again and she continued upwards.

She skimmed across the hallway towards the large double door, knocking lightly on it. "Come in!" She heard his voice boom back and she entered.

The office was different to Neji's it was open, comfortable, soft mellow music played in the background, aside from the desk, there was also a large couch and TV.

But she found him currently sat on a mat cross-legged, his hands pressed together and eyes shut, almost as if he was meditating. His eyes opened, and instantly he beamed at her. "Hinata! Good to see you so soon again-ttebayo!" He laughed loudly.

"S-Sorry, Namikaze-san. Was I disturbing you?" She asked quietly, hanging by the door,

"Nah, just a bit of meditation. It was one of the first classes here at Dattebayo, plus I recommend it to all employees, helps with relaxing and relieving stress!" He grinned, untangling himself before standing up straight, seeing the puzzled look she was giving him. "Oh that's right, I told you I work at Dattebayo. Well it's kinda true, I do host classes sometimes, but truthfully, I own it!"

Hinata smiled back weakly to him. "I was asked to deliver this to you, Namikaze-san, by Neji-san." She responded, offering the envelope towards him.

"No need for the formalities, Hinata. Just call me Naruto!" He beamed back, gently taking the envelope, and ripping it open, with deep thought he stared at the papers in side. "Hmm, this looks like the contract between us and Doujutsu, better wait for Shikamaru to read this, see if everything is too his plan."

"T-That is fine, you can deliver it back whenever you wish." Hinata smiled again towards the blond man.

"Great!" Naruto beamed, placing the papers on the desk. "So you want a drink or something? It's quite a distance between here and Doujutsu."

"N-No thank you, I must be going." Hinata gave a quick bow and began to turn.

"Awww come on! You can stay for a little while!" He whined loudly, quickly running across the office to a small refrigerator, taking out two bottles of grape juice.

"Umm, maybe I could stay for a moment." Hinata responded with a light blush, seeing his large blue eyes digging into her soul. He beamed instantly handing her a grape juice before walking her towards the sofas, where they both sat down.

"So I take it you've met my cousin Karin?" He asked cheerfully as he opened the bottle in his hands.

"Yes, I work closely by her. I am Neji-san's assistant, and Karin-san is Uchiha-san's." She responded, opening her own bottle as she did so.

"Yeah, though she never mentioned she worked for Sasuke. Damn asshole, to wait all this time to let me know he's back in town. He's gonna get an earful when we meet up on Saturday." The blond man grumbled into the juice bottle, before looking back at her. "How's Bolt and Himawari?"

His sudden question startled her, to think he had remembered their names from only hearing them once almost two weeks ago. As she stared at him, she began to easily comprehend what Shikamaru talked to her about, this Naruto… Bolt was the spitting image of him. "T-T-They are fine. Bolt is still a little rambunctious, and Himawari-chan… she just needs some confidence."

"You know, it reminds me of myself when I was a kid." He mumbled back towards her. "Not the lack of confidence part, but I certainly had more energy then I knew what to do with… it was like I couldn't concentrate on anything for long periods of time, I myself brought my mom a lot of grief. My parents enrolled me in some martial arts classes, it really helped. That is where I met Sasuke as well. Maybe that could help Bolt." He spoke more positively than before. "As for Himawari, kids never lack confidence, some just have a hard time showing it. Put her in a team sport, and she'll soon shine like the sun."

"T-That would be nice, but I could never afford such a thing at this moment." Hinata smiled down weakly at her juice bottle.

The blonde's lips pursed next to her, before he walked over to his desk, pressing the buzzer on his desk. "Lucy!"

"_**Yes Naruto?**_"

"Could you set up three all access lifetime memberships for me please? One adult and two kids please?"

"_**Okay Naruto.**_"

"She's a good egg." Naruto turned to Hinata beaming. "Almost lost her at last year's Christmas party."

"_**Take your hand off the buzzer, Naruto.**_" Lucy's voice beckoned through the speaker. "_**And you know the deal, keep that old pervert fifty feet away from me at all times.**_"

"N-Naruto-san, I can't afford this." Hinata responded meekly, with a subtle frown to her face.

"Ah don't worry about it, Hinata! It's getting set up in my name, which means it's free!" He beamed once again. "Just pick them up when you get down stairs!"

"T-Thank you, Naruto-san." She blushed again, a soft smile gracing her face.

"No problem, Hinata." He smiled back, and as he stared at her graceful, blushing, smiling face, he couldn't help but smile softer, kinder, and more lovingly.

* * *

><p>"So this is it, the contract?" Shikamaru held up the papers towards Naruto, shaking them a small bit.<p>

"Yeah, I waited for you to get back and look over them. So what are they offering?" Naruto asked in return with a beaming grin.

"Their usual. A temporary contract, valid for one year of marketing assistance." Shikamaru responded back with a small smile.

"Eh!? What about all that talk about loyalty for the price of loyalty!?" Naruto yelled back in astonishment.

"To be honest, I never really expected them to go for it. I was simply just throwing that card on the table, to let them know where we stand. It's good that they gave us the temp contract, it means if they are crap or we have any transgressions it's a simpler opt out, similarly, if it's a good partnership, we can demand the loyalty we originally wanted at the end of the temp contract, if they refuse, or they offer us another temp, we just look elsewhere." Shikamaru smirked as if he had come out as the victor.

"So we're on? We can finally set our plans into motion?" Naruto asked excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

Shikamaru smirked back in response. "Yeah, finally this expansion can get under way."

* * *

><p>AN: So that's the end of the chapter, next time, looks like it's time to party! (Rips off pants)

Nothing really to discuss this time either.

Until next time!


End file.
